Russian President Vladimir Putin was named Time’s Person of the Year. Time also points out that Person of the Year doesn’t mean the best person of the year but frankly the opposite in the case of Mr. Putin. As I was heading home last night from work with Anton, there was a piece on NPR’s Marketplace about Putin’s power (and money) grab. Here’s the part I liked…
Things have a way of working out like this for Vladimir Putin. Consider the maneuvers that brought him to power in the first place. In 1998, Putin was named to head the Russian security police, the successors to the KGB. Soon, a series of humiliating or scandalous leaks disgraced leading Russian politicians, from President Yeltsin down. Then, in August 1999, Putin rose from control of the secret police to control of the whole Russian state.
One morning, President Yeltsin named Putin as one of three deputy prime ministers. The government of the moment that same day abruptly resigned, leaving Putin as sole acting prime minister. Later on that same day, Yeltsin declared that he wished to see Putin succeed him. Before nightfall, Putin unveiled his own presidential campaign.
Six months later, Putin became acting president. Putin granted Yeltsin and his family immunity from prosecution.
